I noticed this summer when I swam to one side of my 3 year old above ground pool that it seemed a little deeper. Now that the pool is drained below the skimmer and the winter cover is on and has water on it, I can really notice a difference in the depth between the opposite sides of the round pool. It looks as though one section of the pool is leaning outward further than any other side. The pool is on a small hill and the installer added some dirt on that side to bring it level with the other side. We considered a retaining wall over there but did not put one up. Is there a way to fix this without draining all the water out? Is it possible to add some supports to the outside pushing that section in or maybe going ahead and adding a retaining wall? I'm afraid that when I add water back above the skimmer level, the side leaning out will have water way close to the top or possibly spilling over. Any advice or direction to a similar thread? Thanks!
Leaning Pool Wall
- Thread starter amersonl
- Start date
Having the pool shift a little out of level is common, but a large shift can be a serious problem. If the wall has moved 1/4" or 1/2" then there probably isn't anything to worry about. But if it has moved more than 1" there is likely to be trouble (either now or later, difficult to say which). The first thing to do is to confirm with an accurate level just how much the wall has moved. Spotting things visually can be misleading sometimes. You want a water level or a laser level and an accurate measurement.
Repairs are possible, but they can get tricky (read expensive) sometimes. A great deal depends on the details of the situation. If the wall has moved significantly you may need to get a soil engineer out to study the situation and develop a repair plan. If it is just a little settling of the new dirt it might be trivial, but if the pool is starting to move down the hillside it could be a major problem.
Repairs are possible, but they can get tricky (read expensive) sometimes. A great deal depends on the details of the situation. If the wall has moved significantly you may need to get a soil engineer out to study the situation and develop a repair plan. If it is just a little settling of the new dirt it might be trivial, but if the pool is starting to move down the hillside it could be a major problem.
Thanks for the reply. When I use the laser level do I do it from the water level or the wall? I'm hoping my eyes are just deceiving me. Should I wait until the cover is off to get a better reading? Thanks for your help!
What you normally do is setup the laser where ever it is convenient and then measure down from the laser to corresponding spots on the wall (spots that should be at the same level). Typically you might use the deck surface, or the top edge of the liner, or the bottom edge of the coping, as a reference point to measure down to (depending on how your pool is designed and what is easy to measure to). The measurement from the laser to that point, in each location around the pool, should be the same, give or take 1/2".
Depending on how things are setup, it isn't always obvious which spots on the wall correspond to each other. For example the pattern printed on the liner, if you have one, isn't always a good reference, because the liner isn't always installed exactly level, and it isn't especially important if the liner is level or not (though it can be unsightly).
Measuring down to the water is a handy way to verify that your laser level is working. Calm water will always be level.
All of this is much easier to do when the pool is not winterized/covered. Since there won't be much you can do about it even if there is a problem until the weather warms up, you might as well wait.
Depending on how things are setup, it isn't always obvious which spots on the wall correspond to each other. For example the pattern printed on the liner, if you have one, isn't always a good reference, because the liner isn't always installed exactly level, and it isn't especially important if the liner is level or not (though it can be unsightly).
Measuring down to the water is a handy way to verify that your laser level is working. Calm water will always be level.
All of this is much easier to do when the pool is not winterized/covered. Since there won't be much you can do about it even if there is a problem until the weather warms up, you might as well wait.